Gundani to be buried tomorrow

Midlands CorrespondentsFORMER Warriors, Ziscosteel and Lancashire Steel defensive linkman Paul Gundani, who died on Wednesday, will be buried at Msasa Cemetery in Kwekwe tomorrow morning.

The Footballers’ Union of Zimbabwe (FUZ), of which Gundani was secretary-general at the time of his death, will foot all the funeral expenses.

Family spokesman and elder brother to the late footballer, Joel Gundani, said a procession will today be held for the late former Warriors’ stalwart from Nyaradzo Funeral Parlour in Redcliff at 1PM to Torwood Stadium where he honed his football skills.

The body will then proceed to Baghdad Stadium where the football fraternity will have a chance to eulogise their colleague before it’s taken to his residence at number 3 Taunton Road in Fitchlea to lie overnight before burial tomorrow morning.

“We would have wanted to bury him tomorrow (today) but there are a number of compelling reasons which saw us pushing his burial to Saturday. There are relatives who are scattered all over the world who are yet to arrive, and more-over, some of his children are sitting for O-Level examinations and it would be improper to bury their father in their absence,” said Joel.

“So we’ve reserved tomorrow (today) for the people of Redcliff and Kwekwe to bid farewell to their son. We will have a procession which will take us to Torwood Stadium in Redcliff and will then proceed to Baghdad Stadium where he rounded off his career playing for Lancashire Steel.

“At Baghdad, former payers and those in the entire football fraternity will have a chance to give speeches and bid farewell to their colleague. It is only proper that we do that because Paul was a football person through and through. Around 4.30PM, the body will then leave for his home where it will lie in state before burial on Saturday.

“We are still speechless on the loss of Paul. It’s like a train which has derailed. Everything was good when Paul was around because he was a man of the people.”

FUZ president Desmond Maringwa announced that they would foot the entire funeral expenses of their departed secretary-general.

“We want to give Paul a befitting send-off of a hero. FUZ is going to foot all the funeral expenses for our colleague, brother and family man,” said the former Dynamos midfielder.

Former players, who include his teammates at Ziscosteel in the 1980s Benedict Moyo, Godfrey Tamirepi and Kennedy Nagoli, as well as former Chicken Inn hardman Herbert Dick were among those at Gundani’s funeral wake.